Foreign investors play ‘follow the leader’ rather than crunching data

Some foreign investors have found a new and simple way to make money from China’s dysfunctional stock markets — by dispensing with market research and playing “follow the leader” instead.

Rather than crunching data on earnings and stock valuations to come up with investment strategies, they are mimicking China’s so-called “national team” — a group of state-backed financial institutions tasked with propping up share prices.

When this team of brokers, fund managers, and insurers intervene to buy up shares at the behest of Beijing, foreign investors quickly follow suit and purchase the same stocks.